A Pair of Pockets, initial instructions.

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+Pair of Pockets
+===============
+
+.. figure:: pair_of_pockets_patterned_cotton.jpg
+   :align: center
+
+In the 18th and parts of the 19th century, pockets for women were an
+accessory not attached to any garment, but tied around the waist and
+worn under the skirt (the more modest and privacy-respecting way) or on
+top of it (for convenience, usually done just by the working classes).
+
+Beside being significantly bigger than what is usually found in modern
+womenswear clothing (but not necessarily the ones found in the
+ones from the 19th century), they have the advantage of not letting the
+weight of the contents hang from the fabric of a garment, and thus they
+are a good match to ligtweight skirts or ones made from knit fabric.
+
+Or, since it's the 2020s and there is no sense of decency anymore :D one
+can wear them on top of a pair of jeans, visible to anybody.
+
+Historical pockets were quite diverse: a good overview of their history
+is in :cite:`2019:pocket` (or a very short version in
+:cite:`2021:vampockets`), and an internet search will get you lots of
+historical examples to reproduce or take inspiration from, as well as
+people who made their own pockets and publish instructions, some of
+which are listed in the :ref:`pockets_see_also` section.
+
+This is just one way to make a pair of pockets which works and is easy
+enough to do; if you are so inclined the rabbit hole of historical
+construction methods can offer you many hours of research and making.
+
+I sew most of my pockets by hand, as it is a quick and easy project,
+but machine sewing is also an option, especially for more modern
+variants. To sew by machine, lockstitch where the instructions say to
+backstitch, and topstitch instead of hem/applique-stitching.
+
+Materials
+---------
+
+* Fabric: about 40 cm of strong cotton or linen;
+* optional, about 40 cm of dense cotton or linen for a lining;
+* 2.4 m edge binding (bias or straight);
+* 1.5 m tape;
+* sewing thread.
+
+This is of course a great way to use scraps and leftovers, and if you
+don't have enough fabric to make a pair there are plenty of historical
+examples of single pockets mounted on a tape of their own.
+
+Pattern
+-------
+
+The pattern for these pockets is a vaguely pear shaped bag with a slit
+in the top half of the front, often more than 40 cm deep. If you're not
+reproducing an existing pocket you may want to download my own pattern,
+which has the width and height of a B4 sheet and is on the smaller end
+of typical historical sizes:
+
+:download:`pockets_B4.svg`
+   SVG source, can be scaled to taste;
+:download:`pockets_B4-A4.pdf`
+   PDF, tiled on two A4 sheet;
+
+Instructions
+------------
+
+If you want to make embroidered pockets it's easiest to do on the fabric
+before cutting it: mark the outline and slit of the pocket and embroider
+leaving a clear space around those markings of half the width of your
+binding.
+
+Cut the pattern four times in your fabric. If you need to protect the
+back of the fabric (e.g. because it is embroidered and the contents may
+catch on it) also cut the pattern four times in lining.
+
+If using a lining, lay it on the wrong side of each panel, baste it and
+from now on treat as one.
+
+Cut the slit on two of the panels, bind both sides.
+
+If your binding has raw edges, align one raw edge of the binding to the
+raw edge of the slit, right sides together, backstitch on the fold of
+the binding, press towards the wrong side and hemstitch down.
+
+If your binding is a tape with finished edges, fold it in half, pin it
+over the raw edge of the slit, applique stitch on the right side and
+then hemstitch the wrong side.
+
+Cut four small patches from the scraps of fabric, fold their edges
+towards the wrong side and sew it at the end of the slit on both sides
+to reinforce the weak point, applique stitching to the rigth side and
+hemstitching to the wrong.
+
+Put one panel with a slit on top of a panel with no slit, wrong sides
+together, backstitch all around it at 5 mm from the edge.
+
+Bind the side and bottom edges using the same tecnique used for the
+slit.
+
+Cut a piece of tape long enough to go around the waist and be tied, pin
+the top edge of the two pockets on top of it so that they are
+symmetrical and lie at the right position for the slits in your skirts.
+
+.. tip::
+   If you're making more than one pair of pockets, put them at different
+   distances from the front, so that you can choose the ones that fit
+   better with the line of each skirt you're wearing.
+
+Hemstitch the tape to the pocket at the bottom edge of the tape.
+
+Put another piece of tape on top of just the front of each pocket,
+folding down the raw edges, applique stitch it to the pocket and to the
+tape at the sides; whipstitch the two tapes at the top, enclosing the
+raw edge of the pocket.
+
+Fold down the ends of the long tape, hemstitch them down to finish even
+these raw edges.
+
+Your pair of pockets is done!
+
+Gallery
+-------
+
+.. figure:: pair_of_pockets_cats.jpg
+   :align: center
+
+.. _pockets_see_also:
+
+See Also
+--------
+
+In the 2020s, pockets are IN, at least in the online sewing community:
+this is a small selection of people who made their own pockets.
+
+* `Make your own Pocket (Victoria and Albert Museum)
+  <http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/m/make-your-own-pocket/>`_
+* `Pair of pockets (Miss Hendrie's Workbook)
+  <http://misshendrie.blogspot.com/2014/11/pair-of-pockets.html>`_
+* `Making an Embroidered Pocket (Tea in a Teacup)
+  <https://teainateacup.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/making-an-embroidered-pocket/>`_
+* `If they can't fit pockets in our clothes, we'll bring back POCKETS AS
+  FASHION (Bernadette Banners)
+  <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phFUTqoW5B8>`_
+* `Linen pocket (Josefin Waltin spinner)
+  <https://waltin.se/josefinwaltinspinner/linen-pocket/>`_